


titles are hard (but getting a cute girlfriend doesn't have to be)

by putsch



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: College, F/F, First Dates, Happy Ending, Long-Distance Friendship, Minor Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou, Texting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-01
Updated: 2017-04-01
Packaged: 2018-10-13 19:17:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10520130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/putsch/pseuds/putsch
Summary: They worked side by side for a whole year, day in and day out, so it shouldn't be that hard to reconnect just because Yukie's away at college, right??





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Icie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Icie/gifts).



> HELLO.... I REALLY HOPE YOU LIKE THIS!!  
> also feel free to listen to [these cool tunes](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwO1UwmMTPbORsT7QgSsLaLcHJ6exGfOh) for that cute owl girl mood

"You take care of them for me, alright?"  
  
It was cold for this time of the year; she didn't expect to be wearing a jacket and scarf at her own graduation. Yet the cold settles around them anyway as they share their last goodbyes near the Fukurodani gates, the wind kicking through their hair. Yukie blames the wind as to why her cheeks are so pink.  
  
"I promise," Kaori says through a few stray tears, and Yukie gives her a wide grin.  
  
"I knew I can trust you. Those boys are in your hands now!" She laughs, bubbling and bright as ever as she pulls Kaori into a tight hug. "And if you need any help, you still have my number, and university isn't that far away. I'll swing by to give 'em a smackdown."  
  
Kaori hugs her back just as tight and it makes Yukie feel like goo.  
  
"Thank you."  
  


 

  
  
  
  
Regardless of what she had said Yukie had every intention of texting Kaori first. Even with Akaashi as the captain, first year kids are always rowdy, thinking they can get onto the famous Fukurodani first string simply because they were so good in junior high. Yukie wanted to make sure that Kaori was handling them well. Plus, she wanted to know how her favorite kouhai was doing in general; they haven't spoken since their goodbyes by the gates at graduation.  
  
And yet university life catches up to her — her courses give her ample readings and she has some kind of essay or workbook assignment due nearly every week, and trying to figure out how to manage it all, along with checking out club activities and just trying to get to know the other girls in her dorm; time slips through her fingers faster than she anticipates. By the time Yukie manages to pull out her phone one day after finishing up her last reading for her basic physics course, it's nearly 11 at night. Kaori would likely be asleep or heading to bed. Yukie should be doing the same — she has class at 9, and she didn't sleep well the night before since she could hear her neighbor's terrible 80's musical selection through the walls.  
  
"I don't know why you're so stressed about it," Bokuto tells her the next day, the two of them sitting outside the gym drinking smoothies. Through some bizarre twist of fate, or maybe a stroke of luck, they ended up at the same university. "Why don't you just text her right now!"  
  
"Don't be a dummy, it's the middle of the day. She's gonna be busy in class."  
  
Bokuto rolls his eyes. "So? At least then she'll get a text and know you're alive."  
  
Her phone was heavy in her pocket, shifting her weight from side to side like maybe she could ignore the fact that Bokuto was right. Yukie _hated_ it when Bokuto was right.  
  
"What about Akaashi? How's he doing?"  
  
Yukie grinned as Bokuto made a terrible choked noise around his straw. It didn't change the fact he was right but it did make her feel better. "That's different! Don't bring up Akaashi when I'm trying to give you advice!!"  
  
"Uh-huh. Sure it is."  
  
"At least I've been texting him, unlike you!"  
  
Goddammit. Now Bokuto's been right _twice._ She slurps the fruity mix loudly through her straw, giving him the stink eye.  
  
"Fine. I'll text her." Yukie pulled her phone out of her pocket, finger hovering over the messages icon as Bokuto let out a cheering woop and crowded right up to her so his chin was on her shoulder.  
  
"Yesss! Alright, what are you gonna text her? Gonna ask about the team? Her homework? What color her panties are?"  
  
"Shut up! No! I'm trying to think, don't tell me to text adorable Kaori gross things!!" Bokuto howled with laughter even as Yukie shoved his face off and away.  
  
"You know you want tooooo!"  
  
"That's it, next time you show up without your wallet you're not getting any smoothies!"  
  
" _Oi!!_ "  
  


  
  
  
She still hasn't thought of what to say.  
  
Bokuto was long gone, having to bolt after downing his smoothie to get to volleyball practice on time, but he gave her a firm pat on the shoulder and said, "You can figure it out! You'll be fine!" She sighed, and wished for not the first time she could be as confident in herself as he was of her. It shouldn't be this hard. Just a simple "hey", or a "so how's practice been?", maybe a fun sticker, that should be more than enough.  
  
For some reason, it doesn't feel like enough.  
  
Yukie tucks her phone back into her pocket. She needs to head back to her dorm, maybe grab another snack or take a nap to jog her brain as to why she can't send one little text. For the whole year she and Kaori talked every day about everything from volleyball to cakes to boy bands: there's no reason she can't still do that just because they don't go to the same school or because Yukie can't see the way Kaori's cheeks dimple when she smiles or her ears go red when it's too windy out.  
  
Her phone buzzes in her pocket.  
  
Probably spam email from the clubs again, she pulls her phone out to see and delete it.  
  
Message: kaori ☆ﾟ. * ･ ｡ﾟ  
OMG Akaashi actually yelled at a first year!!!!! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT!  
  
Yukie drops her phone on her foot.  
  
_How_. She had been working so hard to text Kaori first. She was going to be The Good Senpai, and here was Kaori, coming right at her in the middle of her struggle and beating her to the punch. Yukie's not sure if she is going to cry or melt with delight.  
  
Actually it might be crying if her phone screen is cracked.  
  
( Thankfully her phone screen did not crack. )

to: kaori ☆ﾟ. * ･ ｡ﾟ  
!!!!  
what happened?  
  
to: Yukie-Senpai  
Jun-kun said something about how he was going to be a better ace than Bokuto-san and be number one, and Akaashi told him off saying he better practice his blocks and serves or he won't even make it to first string.  
I think he saw red.  
  
to: kaori ☆ﾟ. * ･ ｡ﾟ  
oh my god  
i sort of want to tell bokuto  
  
to: Yukie-Senpai  
LOL do so!! He'll be so happy!!  
  
to: kaori ☆ﾟ. * ･ ｡ﾟ  
no i cant  
he'll ascend into space and probably explode  
  
to: Yukie-Senpai  
LOLOLOLOLOL  
OH NO!! What will the team do without him!  
  
to: kaori ☆ﾟ. * ･ ｡ﾟ  
probably let out a sigh of relief  
  
to: Yukie-Senpai  
Yukie-senpai!!  
  
God, Yukie could hear the exact way Kaori would say her name, exasperated and shocked with a hint of laughter fluttering at the edges. It made her smile so wide her cheeks hurt.  
  
to: kaori ☆ﾟ. * ･ ｡ﾟ  
i refuse to apologize.  
how'd the rest of the team take it?  
  
to: Yukie-Senpai  
I thought they'd be more nervous but they all seemed to understand. Plus the Jun-kun kind of reminds me of that orange Karasuno first year so I think they all understood.  
The third years won't stop teasing Akaashi though  
  
to: kaori ☆ﾟ. * ･ ｡ﾟ  
lolllllllllll thats bc they Know  
  
to: Yukie-Senpai  
Haha I guess so!

"God she's so cute," Yukie mumbled to herself, uncaring if anyone was around to hear her or see her smiling at her phone like an idiot. Talking to Kaori like this again was like slipping back into an comfortable pair of sweats you hadn't worn in months. She was stupid to wait this long to talk to her, or to make Kaori text her first.  
  
Her thumb hovered over her phone keyboard, wondering if she should let the conversation go. She should do homework and Kaori probably has stuff to do too.  
  
to: kaori ☆ﾟ. * ･ ｡ﾟ  
so now i know all about akaashi, but how are you doing?  
  
Homework can wait — she is on a roll.

  
  
  
  
  
They continued on like that and Yukie was glued to her phone, finding herself falling back into step with familiar conversations with Kaori about the Fukurodani practice regiment, about the new types of fillings to go into rice balls, about the new single that just dropped. She hadn't realized how much she missed simply talking to her until they started doing it again. It was amazing how just the right shape of pixels on her phone screen made the world seem easier, her neighbor's music never getting to her and her endless readings seeming a little bit more bearable when she could break up the monotony with Kaori's messages. They could talk for long stretches of time or go a day without texting before picking it back up again as if it was no big deal. There was that mutual understanding of the business of university and high school life, and Yukie liked it. She liked it a lot.  
  
There were only a few downsides to this new development in her life: one is getting caught staring like a fool at her phone, grinning behind her hand.  
  
Like right now, for example. " _Ohohoho_ , so you did finally text her!"  
  
Yukie jumped at the sound of Bokuto's voice and turned back at him to scowl. "Hey, I told you I would." She swiped the iced mocha out of his hand and gave it a very loud, very long sip. It was embarrassing getting caught like that, however this was something manageable. She's dealt with embarrassment and looking a fool plenty of times, which is something she can't say for the second downside about talking to Kaori again — spitting out the fact she actually really, _really_ likes her.  
  
Relationships had never been her thing, turning down confessions with excuses of schoolwork and volleyball club when in reality, she could've managed it. She doesn't have the experience in dating, and while she's seen her friends go through it and gets it in concept, doing it is a whole other game.  
  
"Yeah, but how was I supposed to know, huh?" Bokuto plopped himself in the seat across from her. "How's she doing? How's the team??"  
  
"She's good, sounds like the whole team is getting along well enough." She gives Bokuto a look from over the top of her cup. "Why are you asking me, haven't you heard all this from Akaashi?"  
  
"He's been busy being a good captain." Bokuto says the words with conviction, but she still notices the way his shoulders droop a little. "And besides, he's not one for dishing out the juicy details."  
  
"True." She nods, thinking about what Kaori has told her about Akaashi, about the team, about how the world of Fukurodani volleyball keeps turning without them. She tells the stories to Bokuto, filling in the bits he hasn't heard, answering the questions that pop out of Bokuto as they always do. But she can't help getting distracted as she talks — Bokuto and Akaashi had always been close despite their year apart and wildly different personalities and yet, somehow, they work. They still work, Yukie thinks, remembering Kaori's story about him getting flustered over a first year trying to talk bad about Bokuto.  
  
"Hello, Yukie. Anyone home?"  
  
She blinks, not realizing she had zoned out, mug in hand. "Hey, can I ask you something?"  
  
"I thought I was doing the asking, especially since _I_ bought today."  
  
"How do you and Akaashi do it?"  
  
Bokuto looks taken aback by this, blinking at her. "Well, first I like to set the mood with some music and kissing, and then—"  
  
Yukie kicks him under the table. "Not that, asshole." She ignores his groans of pain and continues. "I mean with your relationship. Going to different schools, being busy, I dunno, how did you two even get together? I just turned around and it had happened."  
  
He stares at her for a long second, too long for Yukie's liking, before bursting out in laughter. "Ohhhhhh, this is about Kaori isn't it?"  
  
"No. I'm asking about you."  
  
"Uh-huh."  
  
She sips her iced mocha _very_ loudly at Bokuto's annoyingly knowing cocky expression.  
  
"Fine. It's about Kaori."  
  
"I knew it!" He pumps his fist, and Yukie thinks very seriously about punching him to make this feel more evenly keeled. "You just have to ask her out."  
  
"Are you serious."  
  
"You just gotta spit it out, I'm serious!" Bokuto's voice is getting louder, but no one in the surrounding tables seems to care. "If you keep thinking about it it's gonna be like you and that text. You gotta just say it, get it out there, and see what happens. And when it works," That sly grin comes back, and Yukie _really_ isn't sure how to feel about that, "It's the best feeling in the world."  
  
She pauses, looking him over and blowing bubbles into her drink. When Bokuto says it so surely it just seems so easy.  
  
"At least it can't hurt to try, right?"  
  
"Yeah," she says, "I guess you're right."  
  
  
  
  


 

to: kaori ☆ﾟ. * ･ ｡ﾟ  
are you free on sunday?

  
to: Yukie-Senpai   
Yes, I am  
Why?

  
to: kaori ☆ﾟ. * ･ ｡ﾟ  
wanna get crepes? theres a new spot between our places we can go 

  
to: Yukie-Senpai   
!!!  
Yes!!

 

  
  
  
  
A volleyball court is a distinct set of sensations but the sounds are what make it real to Bokuto. The location of the court never mattered as much as those special sounds that made a court a court. The squeak of shoes, the slam of a ball, the shouts of "Left!" and "One Touch!", his phone going off loudly in his bag at the bleachers. All of those make him feel right at home.  
  
"Bokuto, get your phone already! I told you to put it on silent!"  
  
"Sorry, sorry, I'm getting it! Jeez." His phone going off wasn't actually part of the normal volleyball experience but a guy can't be blamed for forgetting about it once in a while. He pulls out his phone to silence it, only to take pause when he sees Yukie's name on his screen.  
  
He answers it. "Hello?"  
  
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"  
  


 

  
  
  
Yukie isn't one to put too much thought into her outfit but on this particular Sunday morning her bed was piled high with different shirts, some that were too dressy, some too casual, some that could work if only she could decide on the best pair of pants to go with it. Or should she wear a skirt?  
  
"It's just Kaori." She mumbles to herself, running her hand through her hair. "She's seen me in pj's."  
  
Unfortunately, the thought does nothing to soothe her nerves.  
  
It hasn't been _just_ Kaori in a while.  


 

  
  
  
to: Yukie-Senpai **(draft)**  
I'm really looking forward to seeing you again  
  
  
to: Yukie-Senpai  
Tomorrow!  
I'll see you then :)  
  


 

  
  
  
Eventually Yukie decides on a reasonable outfit of soft pink and dark browns, skipping the jacket on account of the warm and sunny weather, and rushes to catch the train so she isn't late. Middle ground between the two of them is still an hour's journey and Yukie spends the whole time listening to music to force herself to calm down. Being antsy won't get her anywhere or anything except an upset stomach, and she really did want to eat crepes today.  
  
They decided to meet not at the shop, but outside the station, so they could walk there together. After a quick pass to make sure her hair was all in the right place (god, she wasn't normally so concerned about this kind of thing), she makes it to the exit, looking around for Kaori. She shouldn't be too hard to spot, and this is the subway exit they agreed upon, and she usually arrives first so—  
  
"Yukie-senpai!"  
  
Yukie jumps, turning on her heel and, yep, there she is in all of her tall, slim, cutely dressed glory jogging right toward her.  
  
"Kaori!" She throws her arms open, grin wide enough to crack her face as Kaori comes right in for a hug. They squeeze each other tight and Yukie feels fit to burst. "It's so good to see you! Wow, did you get taller?"  
  
"Oh, these shoes have heels, maybe that's it?" Kaori giggles as she pulls away, tucking her hair behind her ear. Yukie notices now that she's wearing make up. She's not sure if she's ever seen Kaori wearing make up before. "I've only grown a centimeter, it shouldn't be that noticeable."  
  
"A centimeter?? That's crazy, you were towering over me before and now this!" Yukie shakes her head and gives Kaori a light nudge. "Everyone's gonna think you're the older one."  
  
"Um, I don't know about that." Kaori's cheeks go a little pink, as she motions toward Yukie's chest. "Cause, you know."  
  
"Hey!!"  
  


 

  
  
Despite how nervous she was this morning ripping her closet apart, now that she's here Yukie finds that she feels calmer. There's still butterflies in her stomach and fumbles of her tongue, but with the teasing between the two of them and the fact that Kaori actually said yes to this crazy idea and is here, Yukie doesn't know why she worried so much. Of course they were going to have a good time.  
  
Now the question is if Yukie can spit out the rest of what she wants to say today. She thought about it a lot, debating whether to tell Kaori right away (bad, what if she got scared and left) or while they were eating crepes (no no, what if the place got ruined over that) or if she should say something long and flowery (seems like a bad idea, even if there is an appeal to making sure Kaori knows how she's one of the smartest people she knows or that the arrangement of her freckles are a work of art) or if she should just spit it out (very direct but not romantic) or if she should bother at all (the easiest option but it doesn't sit right with her to say nothing after all this).  
  
"Oh, here it is!"  
  
Yukie looks up and somehow they've already made it to the crepe shop, bustling with people and full of the smell of sweets. "After you," Yukie says as she holds open the door, watching Kaori's wobbly smile and the pink coming over her skin.  
  
Yeah, she has to say _something._  
  
Kaori gets her crepe stuffed with strawberries and banana while Yukie gets hers filled with nutella and caramel, and Yukie makes sure to pay for both of them.  
  
"You don't have to do that, Yukie-senpai."  
  
"Oh please, I invited you out didn't I? It's the least I could do." Yukie shoots her a wink. "And you know you don't have to call me senpai anymore. We don't go to the same school."  
  
"You're still older than me. It'd be weird not to, wouldn't it?" Kaori huffs as they take a small table in the corner of the shop, and then takes a bite out of her crepe.  
  
Yukie shrugs. "If I tell you you don't have to, that means it doesn't matter. Easy as that."  
  
Kaori's chews her mouthful and gives Yukie a look as if she's using the time with eating to make a decision. "Okay... Yukie."  
  
Oh no. Mistake, because the second she says her name, full stop, Yukie feels her face just _burn_.  
  
"You got it!" She says, overly cheery, and, oh man, she had jinxed it by thinking she was doing pretty good and not being nervous. Yukie takes a massive bite of her crepe, figuring as long as she has her mouth full she can't say anything embarrassing.  
  
Kaori is being very polite about it too, not saying anything about it or not noticing. For a while they relax back into silence, eating their crepes, and Yukie keeps her gaze firmly on the sweet treat in her hands long enough so that she doesn't realize Kaori had been looking at her. "Oh, you got some chocolate on your cheek."  
  
"Hm?" Yukie says, and chocolate on her face isn't that surprising, "Oh don't worry about—"  
  
"Let me get it for you. Here."  
  
Oh no.  
  
Using a napkin she reaches up to wipe the chocolate that was less on her cheek and more at the corner of her lips. Yukie thinks she's having an out of body experience because Kaori is so close and practically touching her mouth. This can't be real.  
  
"There, that's better."  
  
"I might. Get more chocolate on my face. You know. From eating." What was she _saying._  
  
"That's okay," Kaori says, holding up her fingers that have powdered sugar and cream on them. "Crepes are kind of messy after all."  
  
She licks the sugar off her finger.  
  
"Are you for real?!" Yukie shouts, way too loud in the little shop as it causes everyone else to turn and stare. She grumbles turns away, making a mental note to blame Bokuto for this one as if rambunctious shouting is an infectious disease.  
  
But she can't miss the wide eyed, shaky look on Kaori's face. "What, oh, oh no, was it too much?"  
  
"What."  
  
"No, I mean, uh," For the first time, Kaori looks properly flustered, and it makes Yukie even more confused and nervous. "What's the matter, Yukie??"  
  
"Did you just say..." Yukie blinks, unsure that her brain is keeping up with this conversation anymore.  
"Was it too much?"  
  
Kaori doesn't say anything, and Yukie watches her eyes look anywhere but at her and as her face gets redder and redder until it matches the last strawberries in her crepe.  
  
"Sorry." she finally mumbles, quiet and shy, "I don't know what came over me."  
  
"It's fine."  
  
"No it's not, I was being weird and I don't want to be weird around you, it's just a lot and I haven't seen you in a while and you asked me out and I don't know, I'm just rambling again aren't I?" Kaori sighs, and takes a nibble out of her crepe as Yukie just looks at her dumbstruck. Maybe Yukie should've seen this coming — Kaori was the one who texted her first, got them started even talking to each other again, Kaori was the one who was usually full of surprises despite her polite demeanor even as Yukie tried to be calm about everything but was too nervous to get started. It was always easier to be the chill one, although right now, Yukie felt anything but. Her skin was thrumming, and all her half thought out words and plans seemed to go right out the crepe shop window.  
  
She knew what she had to do.  
  
"I like you." She says, smooth and even enough to surprise herself.  
  
Kaori on the other hand, makes a noise like she choked on her crepe.  
  
"I mean it," she reiterates (and gives Kaori a slap on the back, just in case), "I like you a lot."  
  
"Oh." Kaori coughs a little, and Yukie waits, hanging off every word because she just laid it all out on the table didn't she, and while she thinks it's okay thinking isn't knowing and the gap between is terrifying.  
  
"I like you too."  
  


  
A moment passes.  


  
  
Two.  


  
  
And Yukie throws her head back laughing because _oh my god Kaori does like her_. It wasn't some movie scene confession with the music and timing and flowery words, it was them over crepes and stupidity and it felt so much more real because of it.  
  
"Don't laugh!" Kaori cries, slapping her shoulder and it just makes Yukie drop nutella on her wrist and laugh harder. "This is serious!"  
  
"I know, I know!" she manages, trying to stay steady. "Look, you made me make a mess again, and just when I was thinking how nice you were."  
  
"Yukieee!" She's trying to scowl, Yukie can see it, but Kaori's giggles and the way her cheeks dimple from her smile give her away. "Fine, let me take responsibility."  
  
This time, Kaori doesn't bother with a napkin, just uses her finger to get the blop of nuetalla and eats it. "There, happy now?"  
  
"Hold on, now I think you've got some on _your_ face."  
  
"What, really?"  
  
"Yup." Yukie grins, because there isn't a spec of chocolate or sugar on her face but it doesn't stop her from leaning right in and kissing her.  
  
  
  
  
  
When they finally get train station after a day of crepes and walking through the park and holding hands, it's warm out, warmer than it usually is this time of the day. They hug each other, holding tight, and Yukie still feels like goo but she doesn't feel like getting teary.  
  
She knows they'll see each other again soon.

 


End file.
